ALL-GENDER RESTROOM OPENS IN KOREA

[Anchor Lead]

It hasn’t been easy for sexual minorities, known as LGBTQ, to use public restrooms divided into men’s and women’s. In advanced countries, more and more all-gender restrooms which anyone can use are being built while almost none is found in Korea. But now such a restroom has opened in a Korean university.

[Pkg]

The sign on this restroom looks different from others. Instead of gender distinctions, the sign features pictograms to represent a sexual minority, a disabled person and a child’s guardian. Only single occupancy is allowed since there is only one toilet. This is an all-gender restroom, open to everyone regardless of their gender. This is the first such kind built in a Korean university. Until now, sexual minorities whose sexual identity and appearances were different had difficulty using gender-specific restrooms.

[Soundbite] Lee Hun(Chair, Human Rights Committee, SungKongHoe Univ.) : "My LGBTQ friend suffered from bladder infection because he had to hold it in for about ten hours on the days he came to school."

This restroom is for other groups of minorities as well. There is a diaper changing table for adults with babies and a mirror that a disabled person can adjust even from a wheelchair. All-gender restrooms are limited, available only in a handful of buildings, such as the building for the Korean Confederation of Trade Union’s Public Transport Unions and Diversity Korea. Some fear that such restrooms may invite sexual crimes since both men and women use them, but proponents vouch for their safety.

[Soundbite] Lee Min-jin(Official, KCTU’s Public Transport Unions) : "The door doesn’t open when there is someone else inside, so it’s harder for someone to hide. There is also an emergency bell inside."

Such all-gender restrooms are built in all the buildings on the grounds of Harvard, Yale and other major university campuses, demonstrating that such restrooms are spreading fast in the United States and across Europe.